Turkish Citizenship by Investment FAQ

Akkas & Associates Law Firm is one of the Turkish citizenship law firms with a long record of excellence and professional leadership in Istanbul, Turkey. Our Turkish citizenship lawyers are prepared to handle real estate acquisitions to get Turkish citizenship. Our investment for Turkish citizenship practice includes; buying, leasing, and selling residential and commercial properties to both domestic and foreign customers in Turkey. Our Turkish real estate lawyers also represent our clients in real property acquisition, we prepare real estate sale contracts or amend the contracts that are prepared by the developers. We also represent our clients throughout Turkish citizenship application process until they get their Turkish passport.

Turkey has slashed the financial and investment criteria for foreigners to become Turkish citizens. According to new regulations, foreigners can become Turkish citizens, if they own property worth 250,000 US Dollars for three years. Foreigners purchased 4.6 billion US Dollars worth of properties last year, with a large proportion of them from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Russia, according to official data.

Turkish Citizenship by Investment FAQ

There are 6 ways of obtaining Turkish Citizenship via exceptional procedures which are conducted by the Council of Ministers. These ways are stated below:

who make fixed capital investment at least 500.000 US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency or equivalent amount of Turkish Lira and for whom certificate of conformity is issued by the Ministry of Industry and Technology,

who purchase the immovable property at least 250.000 US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency or equivalent amount of Turkish Lira and attached annotation at land registration not to sell this property for three years and for whom a certificate of conformity is issued by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization,

who employ at least 50 employees and for whom a certificate of conformity is issued by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services,

who invest at least 500.000 US dollars or its equivalent in foreign currency or equivalent amount of Turkish Lira and make commitment to hold the amount of deposits for three years at banks operating in Turkey and for whom a certificate of conformity is issued by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency,

who purchase public borrowing instruments at least 500.000 US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency or equivalent amount of Turkish Lira and make commitment to hold these instruments for three years and for whom certificate of conformity is issued by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance,

who purchase a real estate investment fund participation share or venture capital investment fund participation amount of at least 500.000 US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency or equivalent amount of Turkish Lira and make commitment to hold these participation shares for three-years and for whom a certificate of conformity is issued by the Capital Market Board.

How does the Turkish citizenship with Turkish Property Investment application process work?

Foreigners can obtain Turkish citizenship by buying real estate whose total worth is more than 250,000 USD or equivalent.

You must buy one or more real estate to achieve the 250,000 USD requirement.

You can buy any kind of real estate (house, apartment, office, shop or land) in any province of Turkey.

You must get an official appraisal for each property.

Each of the property must be bought after September 19, 2018.

You must sign a statement that you won’t sell the property for 3 years at the Title Deed Office.

Will my family get Turkish Citizenship?

Yes. You, your spouse (wife or husband) and dependents (your children under the age of 18, on the application date) can get Turkish citizenship. Turkish law does not recognize same-sex marriages, polygamy and other types of partnerships. So a spouse should be a person of opposite sex and the couple should be legally married. If a male applicant has multiple wives, only one of them is eligible for Turkish citizenship.

If the property I buy is not worth 250,000 USD, can I buy several properties to fulfill the 250,000 USD limit?

You can buy several properties which have a total value of minimum 250.000 USD. The values declared at the sale at Title Deed Office and appraisal values should be consistent with that value.

How long does it take to become a Turkish citizen?

After the property is bought and the application is filed, it takes between 3 to 6 months to get the Turkish citizenship and Turkish passport. Turkish Government is doing its best to reduce time.

Can I buy a commercial property with rental income and get Turkish Citizenship with investment?

Yes, any property you buy is eligible for citizenship. You can rent the properties to someone else. The only restriction is you cannot sell for three years.

It looks like it is complicated to apply and get Turkish Citizenship. Can I get assistance for this process?

Akkas & Associates Law Firm offers full services until you get Turkish Passport. We work with real estate agents from all provinces of Turkey to find the best residential or commercial property as per request.

I do not have time to come to Turkey. How can I get Turkish Citizenship?

If you give us power of attorney, we can follow up with the complete process. (Buy the real estate for you, get the appraisal report, transfer the title to your name, give the statement at Title Deed Office, and file all documents for your application.)

How many people can apply for Turkish citizenship with one Title Deed?

Only one person can apply for Turkish citizenship, his/her spouse and dependents are also eligible with this application.

I bought property in Turkey previously. May I apply for citizenship now?

Title deed applications at Property Register Office after 20.09.2018 may obtain Turkish citizenship by a real estate investment of 250,000 USD. Before this date, the minimum value was 1,000,000 USD.

Which nationalities may apply for Turkish passport?

All foreigners who are allowed to buy property in Turkey by Turkish law, may apply for Turkish citizenship by investment.

Do I get a Residence Permit when I file the citizenship application?

Is it possible to have dual nationality in Turkey?

Yes, Turkey allows dual nationality, as long as your original country allows it. If you are a citizen of a country which does not allow dual citizenship, you need to forfeit your original citizenship. But if your original country allows dual citizenship, you can have dual citizenship.

Does the applicant need to reside in Turkey prior and during the application process? What’s the detailed requirements?

No, there is no need for the applicant to reside in Turkey, the applicant should give us power of attorney to follow up procedures and filing citizenship application. The PoA can also be given to purchase a property on behalf of the client.

What are the main investment options?

1) USD$ 250,000 in property

2) USD$500,000 in fixed bank deposit

3) USD$500,000 in fixed capital investment.

I would suggest options 1 and 2. We have filed several citizenship applications with property purchase and many for bank deposit. Bank deposit is easier to full fill, however not many people have 500,000 USD.

What’s the general time frame for the application?

For option 1, property purchase process takes some time, for option 2, depositing money and getting the approval takes about 1 week and we can file the residency application first. Whole process should take between 4-6 months.

Do you help clients to choose the corporate entity to investment for the capital investment option? Yes, we help clients to open bank accounts

If you choose the real estate option, it is better to travel to Turkey to view the property, but in theory do they need to be in Turkey for purchasing the property?

It is better them to be here to see the property, once they decided to buy, then can give us PoA to follow up property purchase and complete the whole procedure. So, they can come see the property and give us PoA and can go back to their country in a couple of days.

Do you have some contacts from the local real estate developers that you can introduce to us?

Yes, we have companies that work together.

As for the bank deposit option, which bank do you work with?

We have access to several banks, clients have some banks in their mind. There are government banks, private banks, interests vary. It is important to find banks with English speaking staff, we can help you.

Required Documents For Turkish Citizenship Application

Application form (Vat-4)

Passport or ID card that shows his/her nationality. If he/she is stateless approved documents with Turkish translate certified from the notary.

Consent letter (taken from notary or the related officer in domestic, if abroad external representation or from the authorized offices from his/her country) for the children who are under their mother’s/father’s custody and applying the citizenship with.

Marital status document and if married marriage certificate, if divorced divorce certificate, if widow/widower death certificate.

Birth certificate that shows personal information, or population register sample document and if married family registration certificate that proves the family bond between his/her spouse and children.

Reach our Turkish Citizenship by Investment FAQ

Since its foundation in 1992, Akkas & Associates Turkish Law Firm has been the choice of numerous clients in Istanbul, Turkey. Thanks to its nationally recognized real estate practice, our firm is now one of the leading Turkish real estate & immigration law firms in Istanbul, Turkey. You may reach our Turkish Citizenship by Investment FAQ through our Contact page.